Adding on to this post. Not only does the pay gap between men and women increase when they get married, it also increases when they get divorced.

On average, a married man will make more than a not married man. Companies seem to believe that those with families are the sole provider (which is sometimes the case) and/or are more reliable. Women, on the other hand, get paid slightly less if they are married than if they are single. I suppose companies then believe that the women is more likely to take a leave of absence for child rearing purposes.

After a divorce, while a man’s income will decrease and a woman’s increase, their expenditures will also change. In today’s society, custody is usually awarded to the mother and father’s pay full child support only half of the time. Therefor, a divorced woman with children will find herself paying more for food and will need to buy a place large enough for her children. A divorced man, on the other hand, will only need to pay for himself.